


Couldn't Let You Go If I Tried

by BallsyAlfie



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), First Dates, First Kiss, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Holding Hands, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Sokka (Avatar), POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BallsyAlfie/pseuds/BallsyAlfie
Summary: “Take me out on the date,” Zuko said.Sokka’s heart stopped. Had he heard right? There was no way he heard that right.“What?”Zuko scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I’m free and you’re free, and it would be kind of a waste to completely scrap all of your hard work in planning the day out. Plus, we haven’t hung out much the past couple weeks. Friends go out to the mall all the time, right?”God, this boy was going to be the death of him.----------Or, Sokka tries to get over a massive crush on a certain scarred best friend by going on a date with a random woman, who ditches him. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Zuko swoops in to the rescue, doing nothing to suppress Sokka’s growing feelings.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 350





	Couldn't Let You Go If I Tried

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! I figured this would be a great way to contribute to the Avatar fandom because we all need more Sokka/Zuko in our life. Enjoy!
> 
> Also, slight trigger warning for implied homophobia. It is barely mentioned/implied, just Ozai being a jerk like always.

Sokka had a problem. He searched through the crowds in the busy mall center. He was sure he had told her to meet him at the fountain in the middle of the building at noon. With every passing minute, he became less sure. He looked at the time on his phone for the twentieth time. The numbers 1:45 pm glared back at him. Maybe she was trapped in traffic, or she had a family emergency.

Sokka opened the contacts on his phone before facepalming. Of course he had forgotten to ask for her number. He couldn’t even remember her name. Was it Jessica? Or maybe Emma? Past Sokka would have slapped him across the face for treating a beautiful woman so nonchalantly. But past Sokka also didn’t have an embarrassingly large crush on his roommate that he was trying to get over. Mindlessly, Sokka pressed the contact for said roommate.

 **Me:** r u busy rn?

Regret immediately gripped Sokka’s heart. He should have just called an Uber. Katara drove him here because his car had broken down again last night. Asking his sister to drive him to a date embarrassed him on its own, but requesting a ride back after his date had ditched him would be a new personal low. Aang was out because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut if his life depended on it, and then Katara would tease him endlessly about it. The only other option was Toph, who was eliminated for obvious reasons.

A noise from his phone snapped Sokka out of his internal panic.

 **Jerkbender <3:** No. Why?  
**Jerkbender <3:** Aren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?

Sokka smiled. He would never get over how amusing it was that Zuko texted like a grandpa. Or more like his uncle.

 **Me:** yeah about that  
**Me:** pretty sure shes not coming  
**Jerkbender <3:** You’ve been waiting there this whole time?  
**Me:** yep  
**Me:** could you come pick me up?  
**Jerkbender <3:** Already on my way. The mall, right?  
**Me:** yes  
**Me:** txt me which parking lot when u get here

Ten minutes later, a tap on his shoulder brought him out of his mindless trance, making him jump. Zuko sat down next to him on the edge of the fountain, his usually stoic face spilling pearls of laughter at Sokka’s initial fright.

“Shut up,” Sokka said halfheartedly. He loved Zuko’s laugh, and he didn’t care what caused it as long as he was able to hear it again.  
“Sorry,” Zuko stated, not looking at all sorry. His face took on a more solemn expression. “Also, sorry about your date.”

Sokka sighed. “Yeah. I had a whole agenda planned out and everything, but whatever.”

“Take me out on the date,” Zuko said.

Sokka’s heart stopped. Had he heard right? There was no way he heard that right.

“What?”

Zuko scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I’m free and you’re free, and it would be kind of a waste to completely scrap all of your hard work in planning the day out. Plus, we haven’t hung out much the past couple weeks. Friends go out to the mall all the time, right?”

God, this boy was going to be the death of him.

“It's fine, Zuko. That sounds like a lot of fun. Have you eaten lunch yet?” Sokka interrupted Zuko’s rambling.

Zuko shook his head.

“Good. Me neither.”

Minutes later, Sokka found himself with a heaping tray of the greasiest food in the food court in between him and his crush. He was starting to regret his life choices. Sokka kept accidentally brushing against Zuko with his hand or his foot as they split the food. He could tell he was blushing, he just hoped Zuko wouldn’t notice.

Zuko also had a habit of moaning while eating tasty food. Not that Sokka was complaining, as that sound had been the source of many late-night fantasies, but right now it was excruciatingly distracting. Sokka had stopped in the middle of his sentence several times now because of it.

Sokka was also beginning to regret getting onion rings instead of fries, especially with Zuko moaning over them. Without breaking his eye contact with Zuko, he reached over and popped one in his mouth.

“Mmm, tasty,” Sokka said with his mouth full.

Zuko faked outrage. “How dare you!”

He looked at the sparse leavenings on Sokka’s plate with an eye on revenge. Sokka smirked. He had purposely waited to steal fries until his own plate was empty. Sokka’s grin turned upside down as Zuko smugly grabbed his pop, taking a large sip before placing it back on Sokka’s side of the table.  
“No fair!” Sokka was sure his whole face was red now. Zuko just put his lips on something his lips had been on. Oh god, they just shared an indirect kiss. Sokka’s brain overloaded.

Zuko burst out laughing. “It is totally fair. Serves you right.”

Sokka grumbled some more but he eventually succumbed to a smile.

“So, what’s next on the agenda?”

“I was thinking we could hit up the arcade. I still haven’t gotten a proper rematch from our last game night.”

Zuko smirked. “You do know that I’ll just beat you again. Just admit defeat already.”

Sokka playfully glared at Zuko. “Never! I’m definitely going to win this time!”

“You’re on.” Zuko smiled.

Despite Zuko’s confidence, Sokka ended up winning most of the button mashing and fighting games. Seeing his smug expression, Zuko demanded a rematch in air hockey to restore his honor. After only one round, they were kicked out for treating the equipment too rough. Sokka couldn’t help laughing at Zuko’s constipated expression.

“If we hadn’t gotten kicked out,” Zuko grumbled, “I would have won.”

Sokka rolled his eyes with a smile. “You wish. I won today, no question.”

Zuko returned the smile. “Sure, believe what you want.”

Sokka glanced at the time. It was already almost evening, but he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Zuko. The goal of today had been to get over Zuko, but Sokka was more in love than ever. And yet, today had been more fun than he could have imagined. He hesitated to bring up what to do next, as it would inevitably lead to the end of the night.

Zuko had no such qualms. “Oh, isn’t that the clothing shop you were telling me about last week?” He pointed to a couple of shops down.

Sokka followed his finger. “You remembered?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Zuko said dismissively. “Let’s go there next.”

Zuko grabbed Sokka’s hand and weaved through the early evening crowd towards the shop. Sokka was very grateful that Zuko was at the lead, because otherwise there is no doubt that he would have seen how flustered he was at their linked hands.  
They went through several shops like that, though Sokka had no clue how many or what was in them. He was so hyper-focused on the feeling of Zuko’s touch. Zuko made no move to release his grasp. They really felt like boyfriends. Sokka shook his head. He had to stop thinking that way. None of this was real, they were just friends. Hanging out like how friends do. And holding hands. Which is totally normal.

Next thing he knows, they are at the entrance again. The dark night sky contrasted with the artificial lights in the mall lobby. Sokka’s hand felt warm from the visits to the different shops, even though Zuko had released his grip upon realizing how late it was.

“Ready to head home?” Zuko held the door open for Sokka. He nodded, following close behind.

The car ride home was awkwardly silent, as was their late-night dinner of instant meals in the kitchen. Quietly, Zuko turned on a movie that they had both watched before. Sokka couldn’t help but think that something had changed between them somehow. He should just pretend today didn’t happen. Zuko was his best friend. He wasn’t willing to lose him because of this stupid crush. 

Plus, he hadn’t even come out to anyone yet. Before his crush on Zuko, he had been so sure he was straight. It had taken a full year of getting unexplainably flustered every time he saw Zuko with his shirt off before accepting his own identity. He was pretty sure Zuko was straight. Sokka had met his ex, Mei. He was definitely into women, so Sokka wasn’t even an option. What if he stopped being friends with Sokka because of his sexuality? There was so much that could go wrong.

“Sokka?” Zuko’s voice pulled him out of his panic for the second time that day. It took Sokka a moment to realize that he had paused the movie. He looked across to Zuko on the other side of the couch.

“Is something wrong? You’ve been really distant all night.”

Sokka shook his head.

“Sokka. Please just say what it is. I’ve said before that I’m always here to listen if you need to rant. The offer still stands.”

Sokka curled up in the corner of the couch. “Nothing is wrong, it's fine,” he lied.

“No, I know something is wrong. Is it because your date stood you up? Is it something I did?”

“What? No! It's nothing you did. Its just, I… um… I-” Sokka stammered. How can he even stop this conversation?

“I’m bisexual!” He blurted out. Oops. Well, that just happened. Sokka curled up into the fetal position, hiding his face in mortification. This was not how he planned to come out, which was to never come out.

“That’s what you’re upset about? Why?” Zuko leaned into his personal space.

Sokka glanced up from his hiding place. Well, so far Zuko hadn’t immediately unfriended him in real life. Might as well just go all the way.

“I only realized it like a month ago and I was worried that you wouldn’t be friends with me if I came out to you. And I’m still worried about that. And about coming out to my sister and our friends.”

Zuko hummed, “It would be pretty hypocritical of me if I judged you because of your sexuality.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m gay, so, you know…” Zuko trailed off.

Meanwhile, Sokka’s whole world was turning inside out. Everything he thought he knew was a lie, but in the best way. Before, Zuko was unattainable, impossible to reach. And now, Sokka’s mind was reeling at the implications. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around this new information.

“But… I thought you were into girls? I mean, I met Mei, you had a girlfriend!”

Zuko laughed. “Why do you think we broke up? It became very obvious to us that I was not into girls, and Mei also realized that she was not as into guys as she had initially thought. We only got together to appease our parents at the time, which as you know, I don’t care about anymore.”

“Oh,” Sokka said. “Holy shit. How did you figure out you were into men, though?”

Zuko lowered his gaze. “Well, I, um, kind of fell in love with one of my best friends. I always thought that he was straight though, so I never confessed.”

Time froze. Sokka could feel his heart crack. Clearing his throat, he managed a quiet “Are you still in love with him?”

Zuko leaned in closer until his face was nearly touching Sokka’s. “God, yes.”

Zuko surged forward, pressing his lips against the other boy’s. Sokka sat frozen, unable to move. Oh my god. Zuko was kissing him. Why was he kissing him? Holy shit.  
Zuko pulled back, and Sokka realized that he hadn’t moved this whole time. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. Just pretend that never happened. We can go back to the way things were, ok?” Zuko sounded panicked.

“Wait, I’m your crush?” Sokka exclaimed. He was still struggling to wrap his mind around this new development.

“I thought that was pretty obvious, and I think it’s a bit more than just a crush. We can-” Zuko’s statement was cut off by Sokka crashing his mouth against Zuko’s. Their teeth clashed together, forcing both of them apart. 

“Ow. That went a lot better in my head.” Sokka moaned.

“You like me too?” Zuko replied.

Sokka’s face split into a grin. “I thought that much was obvious.”

“Can I kiss you again?” Zuko leaned closer again. All Sokka could do was nod. Their lips met again, only this time much more gently. Sokka began to move, his hands coming up behind Zuko’s neck. Sokka felt Zuko’s hands snake around his waist, pulling him in closer. Sokka chose to straddle his lap to maximize the exhilarating contact.

Zuko’s hands pushed further down, reaching under Sokka’s shirt to touch him skin to skin, causing Sokka to moan into the kiss. Feeling competitive, Sokka opened his mouth to lick Zuko’s bottom lip. Zuko gasped, allowing entry for Sokka’s tongue to brush against his own. Zuko tasted sweet and spicy, like chile and chocolate with a hint of smoke, and Sokka couldn’t get enough. Judging by the sounds Zuko was making, neither could he.

Both of them froze, realizing the compromising position they were in. Sokka coughed nervously while disentangling himself from Zuko’s lap. “Um.” Sokka mumbled, “Not like I don’t want to go farther with you, I’m just, uh, not ready for that yet.”

“Good,” Zuko gave a relieved smile. “Neither am I, but definitely later, in the future.”

Zuko shifted closer to Sokka again, but without the passion that the moment before had been full of. “About that, the future I mean,” Zuko started, “I know you haven’t come out to anyone else yet, but I want to be able to kiss you like that every day, and hold your hand and go on dates, kind of like today. So, be my boyfriend?”

Sokka crashed into Zuko. He melted into the embrace. “Yes! God, yes. I want that too.” Sokka stated, entwining their fingers together.

“What about our friends? Should we tell them?”  
Sokka’s face fell. “I’m not ashamed of you, or my sexuality, I swear. I’m just not ready to tell everyone yet. At least not until I talk about stuff with Katara and my dad.”

“I completely understand. Mei and I had a similar conversation when we decided to break up.” Zuko squeezed his hand.

Sokka smiled, leaning in. He brought his free hand up to Zuko’s face, caressing his cheek. Zuko met him in the middle, moving his mouth against his new boyfriend’s. This proved to be rather difficult, given that both boys couldn’t stop smiling.

Sokka pulled back with a slight frown. “Wait.”

Zuko’s face twisted in concern.

“Didn’t you say you broke up with Mei because you fell in love with a guy, who was me?”

Zuko nodded. “You still are.”

“But that was three years ago! You’ve had a crush on me for that long? _Awkward_ …”

“We just established that you have a crush on me too. We are literally dating now.”

“Still…”

“Oh my god.” Zuko shoved Sokka off the couch. “I take it all back. I don’t know why I ever decided to date you.”

Sokka plopped back on the couch. “Nope! No take-backsies! I’m yours forever.”

Zuko smiled, curling across Sokka’s chest and nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end! I always appreciate comments. I have a few potential ideas for some follow ups to this fic, so let me know if you want to see more.


End file.
